Pneumatic dispatch apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 (No Model.)

G. W STORER. 1 PNEUMATIC DISPATCH APPARATUS. No. 251,654.

Patnted Dec. 27, 1881.

FIGPAQ UNITED STA TES PATENT, OFFICE.

GEORGE W. sronnn, on PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PNEUMATIC DISPATCH APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,654, dated December27, 1881, Application filed September 27, 1881. we model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. Sronnn, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Pneumatic Dispatch Apparatus, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates more especially to pneumatic apparatus fortransferringcash, bills, &c., in carriers through tubes between thecounters of salesmen and cashiers desks in stores, although it may beapplied on a larger scale for the transmission of packages betweendistant points; and the object of my invention is to economize power bythe use of compressed air to force the carriers through the tubesinstead of maintaining a vacuum in the same, and by using in connectionwith the tubes the appliances described hereinafter, whereby no morecompressed air than is absolutely required to propel a carrier to itsdestination will be consumed- In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 isa perspectiveview,illustrating the principlcon which my invention isbassd; Fig. 2, a view showing my inventionin its simplestform. Fig. 3,Sheet 2, is a side view, on a larger scale and partly in section, of myimproved apparatus in a more complete form 5 Fig. 4, a vertical sectionon the line 1 2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, avertical section on the line 3 4 ofFig. 3; Fig. 6, Sheet 1, views of the carrier, drawn to a reduced scale;and Fig. 7, a perspective view of one of the valves of the apparatus.

In Fig. 1, A represents part of a pneumatic tube communicating with areceiving-box, B, having a door, D, opening inward. A pipe, h,whichreceives compressed air from a reservoir and communicates with the box Band pneumatic tube, is furnished with a suitable cook or valve. Afterintroducing the carrier, referred to hereinafter, through an opening inthe box, the said opening is closed by the door and the cock or valveopened, when the carrier which the valve is placed under the control ofthe door, the pin of the hinge beingconnected to the spindle of a lightvalve, preferably a balanced valve, and the door being self-openinginward, so that when the said door is closed after the introduction ofthe carrier into the box the valve will be opened and air under pressureWill pass into the box and propel the carrier along the tube, the airkeeping the door closed until the carrier escapes from the end of thetube, when,pressure being removed, the

cates therewith, the under side of the box being rounded to coincidewith the said tube. There is an opening, a, in front of the box for thereception of the carrier, which forms no partof my presentinventiou, andmay be briefly described as two semi-cylindrical parts hinged together,as shown in Fig. 6, so as to be opened. There is a disk or piston at oneend of one part of the carrier and a similar disk at the opposite end ofthe other part of the carrier, so that when the latter is closed it willconsist of a cylindrical case with a piston at each end, the pistons,which are larger in diameter than the case, being of yielding materialand fitting snugly but so as to move freely in the tube A.

The door D is so hinged at its upper edge by a pin d to the box B thatit can be moved to the position shown" by plain lines against the top ofthe said box, when the opening a B, the receiving-box, is

will be exposed for the admission of the carrier, or to the positionshown by dotted lines, when the opening will be closed, in all cases,however, the door being combined with a sprin g, weight, or otherdevice, so as to be selfopening. In the present instance the pin 01,which passes through arms e c on the door and through lugsff on thecase, thereby forming a hinge, is surrounded by a spiral spring, one

end of the wire being fastened to the case A, the other end beingsecured to the pin d or to the door, for it should be understood thatthe pin moves with the door, as it is secured to the arms 0 e of thesame.

The branch h of a valve-chest, G, is secured in any suitable manner toand communicates with the interior of the receiving-box B, the otherbranch, h, of the chest being in communication with a reservoir in whichair at a constant pressure of, say, five pounds per square inch ismaintained.

Different kinds of valves may be used for opening and closing thecommunication between these two branches of the chest, the valveconsisting in the present instance of a cylinder, '5, having an opening,t, and terminating in a piston, m, adapted to a cylinder, 70, projectingfrom the chest. The valvefits loosely in the chest, as also does thepiston'in the cylinder-that isto say, while they fit with comparativeaccuracy the piston and valve should be at liberty to move with freedom;and it is essential that there should be a constant pressure of airbeneath the piston and that there should be a contracted passage orpassages in the latter for the admission of air from the space below thepiston to the space above the same, this contracted passage beingpreferably formed by grooving the edge of the piston, so that air canpass through the groove, as indicated by the arrow, Fig. 3. v

There must be on the cylinder above the piston a valve, H, under thecontrol of the door D, and the valve must be such that the instant thedoor is closed the space in the cylinder above the piston will have afree communication with the external air and that the-moment the door isopened this communication shall be cut off. A hollow cylindrical valve,1), Fig. 7, is used in the present instance, and this is adapted to ahollow cylindrical seat, q, in the top of the cylinder 7c, the valvehaving an elongated slot, 13, corresponding with a similar slot in thetop of the cylinder. An arm, to, on the valve is connected to an arm,as, on the pin 01 of the door-hinge by a rod 3 Other devices for placingthe'valve under the control of the door will readily suggest themselves.

When the pneumatic tube is not in use the door D will be open, thevalvep will be closed, as also will the valve t", the air above thepiston being exerted on a larger area than below. Hence the compressedair is cut off from the receiving-box and pneumatic tube. When thelatterhas to be used, however, the attendant places the carrier in the box andat once closes the door D, when the valve 19 will be opened and thepiston, the upper surface of which is thus relieved from pressure, willat once beforced upward, carrying with it the valve 1' and admittingcompressed air to the box B and pneumatic tube A, and the carrier willbe forced along the latter, the door D being meanwhile retained in itsclosed position by the pressure of air; but when the carrier escapesfrom the end of the tube the pressure within the receiving-box willcease, the door D will be opened by the spring, the valve 10 will beclosed, and the piston m, with its valve, will at once fall, therebycutting oft the compressed air from the pneumatic tube. The opening andclosing of the valve '5 is almost simultaneous with the opening andclosing of the door D, so that there is no material waste of compressedair.

In ordinary pneumatic dispatch apparatus a constant vacuum or partialvacuum is maintained within a system of pneumatic tubes, 7

and this demands the uninterruptedconsumption of power, whereas thepower required to operate the carrier by compressed air in my apparatusis intermittent-that is to say, the power is exerted for the length oftime only required to propel the carrier through the tube. ratus is theliability of the carriers to stick in the tubes, owing to the lowpressure to which they are subjected; and afurther objection, during thewinter months, is the exhausting of large volumes of heated air fromrooms or apartments in which the apparatus is situated. These objectionsare effectually overcome in compressed-air apparatus such as thatdescribed, as in such apparatus any desired pressure of air may be used,and the volumes of air may be either warmed or cooled by artificialmeans previous to being forced through the tubes.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the pneumatic tube, thereceiving-box having a self-opening door, and a valve controlled by thedoor and adapted to govern the flow of air, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in pneumatic dispatch apparatus, of the followingelements, name- Another objection to vacuum appaly: a pneumatic tube, areceiving-box pro-

